CHICAGO, Ill. – Jim Caldwell is on all of metro Detroit's Nice List this holiday season. Over the past two years, the Lions posted a combined 0-9 record in the month of December, but under Caldwell Detroit is 2-0 and in first place midway through the final month of the year.
In other words, Caldwell is spreading Christmas joy in metro Detroit, while Jim Schwartz simply passed out coal.
In his first year as Lions head coach, Caldwell is 10-4 with a chance to take the division with a win in Week 17 against the Green Bay Packers. That matchup may be the most important game left for the NFC playoff picture, but there's one small pit stop for the Lions along the way, and that's in Soldier Field.
Sunday's matchup against the Bears might not have the national sizzle of two first-place contenders duking it out in the Frozen Tundra, but it holds major implications for this Lions team. With a win, the Lions will lock up a playoff spot before setting foot on Lambeau Field. The 5-9 Bears stand in the way of Detroit's first playoff berth since 2011, but their train wreck of a season has pushed this rivalry game into the shadows.
Luckily, as Caldwell has stated, the players aren't looking past the bottom-feeding Bears.
Here are three matchups to look for Sunday as the Lions try to pick up win No. 11 and head into Week 17 with only seeding at stake.
1. Lions safeties vs. Jimmy Clausen
Glover Quin/James Ihedigbo: 123 tackles, 17 passes defended, 10 interceptions
Jimmy Clausen: 3/9, 42 passing yards, 0 TD, 0 interceptions
One of the most underrated position groups in the entire NFL is the dynamic safety tandem of Quin and Ihedigbo in the Lions' secondary. The two safeties lead in the country with a combined 10 interceptions and have paved the way for cornerbacks like Darius Slay to make huge strides in one-on-one pass coverage.
Quin has been one of the team's most valuable players in December, twice turning games around with timely interceptions. In Week 14, Quin picked off Josh McCown in the second quarter to squash Tampa Bay's only red zone appearance of the game. After that interception, the Lions scored 10 straight points to put the game away.
Last week, Teddy Bridgewater and the Minnesota Vikings were absolutely spanking the Lions, up 14-0 with the ball in the second quarter. With 4:40 left until halftime, Quin picked up a huge interception and returned it to the 11-yard line, setting up Detroit's only touchdown of the game. After that turnover, Bridgewater never looked the same, as the Vikings failed to score another point. The pick earned Quin defensive player of the week honors in the NFC.
Ihedigbo has been solid all season for the Lions. Though Quin is tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions, Ihedigbo is close behind with four, good for fifth in the league. Now a duo that helped Detroit beat quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees earlier this season turns its focus toward longtime backup Jimmy Clausen.
The Bears are stuck in a deep rut offensively. This week, coach Marc Trestman took the keys to the offense from Jay Cutler, the highest-paid player in the NFL, and handed them to a journeyman with less than 10 pass attempts on the season. Cutler signed a 7-year, $126.7 million extension in the offseason, but lost his job to Clausen, who signed a one-year deal for $645 thousand.
Clausen is seeing his first game action in four years, completing one pass in each of Chicago's blowout losses to Green Bay and New England. The former Notre Dame QB will be thrown into the fire Sunday against the top-ranked defense in the NFL, leading a team with nothing to play for and a coach already on his way out of town.
If the Lions pressure Clausen, it could be a stat-building game for Quin and Ihedigbo, who make a living by capitalizing off of quarterback mistakes.
Matchup winner prediction: Lions safeties in a landslide
2. Matthew Stafford vs. Jared Allen
Matthew Stafford: 321/522, 3,797 yards, 19 TD, 10 INT
Jared Allen: 51 tackles, 4.5 sacks
When Jared Allen left the Vikings, Matthew Stafford thought he was escaping from one of his greatest nemeses. Allen made a living off of pounding Stafford in Minnesota and even picked up two sacks to wrap up his Vikings career in last season's finale. But Allen stayed in the NFC North Division by signing with the Bears and prolonged his tenure of terrorizing Stafford.
In the first matchup of the season, Allen unsurprisingly spent most of his time in the backfield, hitting Stafford three times and recovering a fumble to set up a Chicago touchdown. The lineman recorded the only two Bears sacks and helped limit Joique Bell in the running game.
Stafford, meanwhile, extended his streak of throwing no interceptions to three games in an ugly win over Minnesota last weekend. His completion percentage over the past three weeks is over 70 and he owns a sparkling 6-0 TD-INT ratio. On Sunday he'll face the second-worst passing defense in the NFL, which he tore up for 390 yards on Thanksgiving Day.
Allen is likely Chicago's only chance to pull a monumental upset Sunday against a team desperate for a taste of the postseason. If the 32-year-old can knock Stafford around and force turnovers, the Bears will have a real shot to win at home.
Prediction: Stafford and Allen meet several times in the pocket, doubling the length of Stafford's post-game ice bath
3. Matt Forte vs. Teryl Austin
Matt Forte: 230 rushes, 932 yards, 6 TD
Teryl Austin: 17 points allowed per game, 63.8 rushing yards allowed per game, 6 forced fumbles
Thanks to Teryl Austin, casual Lions fans may not know that Matt Forte is one of the best running backs in the country. On Thanksgiving, Forte rushed for just six yards on five carries against the Lions, finishing second on his team to Ka'deem Carey, who ran for eight yards on two carries.
Austin's defensive plan not only rendered Chicago's running game ineffective, it forced the Bears to abandon it completely. Forte, the best offensive weapon on the team, got his fewest carries since 2011 as Ndamukong Suh and Ziggy Ansah clogged up the middle. But with Clausen starting this game, Forte will likely become the focus of the offense despite Detroit's stout numbers against the run.
Austin has used a platoon of defensive lineman to improve the league's best run defense, even after the devastating loss of Nick Fairley to injury. Role players like George Johnson, C.J. Mosely and Jason Jones have burst onto the scene, combining for 12.5 sacks and six tackles for loss.
Detroit's defensive front will look to hold Forte without a touchdown for the second straight week. He's only rushed for over 100 yards three times this season, but the Bears are 2-1 when he gets over 20 carries (3-8 when he doesn't).
Prediction: Lions stack the box against Clausen and shut down Forte
The Bears have nothing to play for in the final two weeks, but would love to put the brakes on Detroit's playoff charge. To do so, Chicago will have to beat the league's top defense with a backup quarterback that hasn't started a game since 2010.
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